Our trip from a 6 year old's eyes

Elise’s Story

I am going on an RV trip.  And I am going to see…….  Lots of new friends on my RV trip.  And I started my RV trip on Wednesday and I have two brothers coming with me so I am gonna go to different states in my RV.  I went to some different places with (?) called Grangeville and Lolo Hot Springs and Moose Creek.  So I’m went on a big swing and a bungee jump.  Today we are driving to Wyoming.  And I’m well, really, well actually you stop me cause your done with my RV.  Ha ha ha!  I was just done. Meow!  (Cat drawing).  You are my best friend.  I love you. 

And I just went on Mt Rushmore today.  And I went to pizza works (pic of a tomato) for lunch.  So!  The next day I went to Wisconsin.  It is a fun, fun place.  Well, a fun RV camp.  On my way there, I stopped at McDonalds to get ice cream.  It was fun. I loved it!  And it had a playground.  You should of come to the playground with me.  It had a pool at the RV camp.  I had friends!  You should have friends too.  We just stopped at Walmart to get food!  Today we are traveling to Michigan! We are really excited!  Woo hoo for me, boo hoo for you. (girl crying)   Would you want to come with me?  So sad.  We are at a RV camp right now that is called RV camp.

I just went to a new RV camp right now that it has a pool and a playground.  And my brother, Tanner, lost his wallet at the RV camp.  He went crying.  He was so sad.  I was happy, but he wasn’t. But I was, but he wasn’t. So, I went to a Amish family!!!!  So! I got lots of food at the Amish family’s house.  I got fresh food that was really yummy.  We even got a woopie pie at the Amish’s place.  It was yummy!  Yum!  Please not disturb!  Hee, hee, hee.  Don’t bother me!  I said, don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t disturb me.

Lovely New York

My biggest impressions of upper state New York:  lots of big old houses that have great historical character in every small town, rolling hills with dense greenery and lakes, lakes, lakes. The east seems to have no shortage of water.

We made a pit stop on the drive at Lake Pleasant. The sign clearly read....

But, who follows that rule?

Not these guys.

He's going to catch a duck some day. He just knows it. 

We arrived at Medcalf Acres Riverfront which lies in the Adirondack mountains. Great fun for the kids with mini golf and river swimming.

Met some cute friends right away too, who don't think twice about walking in the camper and requesting a snack.  :)

Who can resist those faces?

If we don't get our kids out of here by tomorrow, they will have spent 2 weeks of chore commissions on tattoos and gum balls. 

People are very friendly, but we certainly hear and have experienced the high cost to live in this beautiful state with taxes, tolls and living expenses. 

On to Vermont tomorrow. 

Spider park

Long travel day and a quick over nighter at a park in Waterloo NY. Not much to say except we found some of the biggest spiders I have ever seen down at the river docks. Local guy I asked about them said he didn't know what kind they were. No big deal. I'll just assume they are called the people eater spider. I think I saw one dragging a kid off into the woods.

NY. Why do you hate me?

Ok. Maybe you don't hate me but you did break my bike so I'm really bummed about that. Especially since you have the best Mtn biking trails I've seen since Montana. Oh well. Your Amish natives have taken my mind off of this unfortunate situation with some of the best baked goods I have ever tasted. Especially the glazed donuts that are as big as your head. And Hope Haven RV camp was a great place for a relaxing weekend.

Amish Donuts

JWe were greeted this morning by an Amish fellow. He came via horse and buggy and carried fresh donuts. He was great! We talked to him for about 30 minutes about his culture and he invited us to come to his farm. We will definitely have to do that before we leave here. The donuts were the best I've ever had.

The Pennsylvania/New York accent is interesting. Hard to get used to but enjoyable.

The kids were greeted by some wild animals in the pool this morning. A beautiful orange salamander and a small frog.

We crossed the border of Pennsylvania yesterday and ended up in southern New York State near Jamestown. A great little camping RV park with lots of families and a pool, fishing pond and of course the Amish donuts.

A Note About RV Challenges

My Dad asked me today about how the RV was doing and I proceeded to tell him about all the great adventures we were having and then I realized he was asking about the RV specifically and how it was mechanically holding up.  I must be getting used to what its like to live this lifestyle because after I told him all the things that have gone wrong he was really worried about us. Its sounds worse (I think) than it really is and I'm beginning to think that it's just the way it is in this RV life. Cassie says that if it weren't RV things I was dealing with it would just be other things like house things or car things or cabin things.  Anyway, I thought it might be worth taking note of those items we've experienced this far into our trip (18 days and 2,467 miles).

We overheated going up Whitebird grade in Idaho, lost function of our electric step in Big Sky Montana, had a tire fixed in Rochester Wyoming, roof leak in South Dakota, lost function of our electric (ironically named "Carefree") awning in Minnesota and we are still dealing with a randomly functioning speedometer and occasional transmission control module issues. We have (so far) figured out ways to work around all of these issues but will be visiting the factory in Decatur IN where we will be getting a good (and I'm sure expensive) service done.  Oh . . and I forgot about the door . . . it doesn't want to shut most of the time.

Mackinac Island, Michigan

The view from our campsite in JW Wells state park. Fabulous lake front. 

Everywhere we go, the kids venture out on bikes or scooters.  View all around us was water.

Michigan has been gorgeous so far!  We were really looking forward to visiting Mackinac Island, which is the only non-motorized vehicle city in the USA.  They ferry you out there for the low low price of $75/family plus $45 in bikes fees.  Once you get there, you'd think it'd be strangely quiet minus all that motoring, but with the 10 million people getting on and off boats, the air pollution is simply replaced by noise.  It's a very cool idea and truly a beautiful island, but yes, a complete tourist trap.  Once we were there and fought our ways through the crowds, we took off around the island which is an 8 mile trek.

My favorite part was watching the garbage collectors use horse drawn wagons to collect trash.  Every little job from bringing luggage up to hotels to horse drawn tours was done on horses.  It brings great character and a nice horsey smell to the island. Population goes from 5000 in the summer to 500 in the harsh winters, where your only way to the mainland is across the ice packed Lake Michigan on snowmobile.

Arches aren't just in Utah!  

One little known fact (at least in my geography impaired mind) is that Michigan is separated into two peninsula's.  Lower peninsula has Detroit and lots of interesting and sad history (told to us by our camping neighbors in Mackinac).  He warned us the exits to avoid on our way south.  Matt and I now want to see the Eminem movie, "8 mile" as it depicts the "white flight" event that took place after the riots in the 50's (very rated R for obvious reason). There is an 8 mile section from the river north that is crime ridden and remains very dangerous, according to our neighbor.  He and his wife, a nurse and salesman, are both from Detroit but from his descriptions, I often wondered why.

The upper peninsula is connected by the largest suspension bridge in the US.  Toll is $24 for an RV, by the way.  It leads to Mackinaw, MI and to the Mill Creek Campground ( see Matt's funny description).

This great swing set made Alex and Tanner legends on the playground as they figured out the fastest ways to spin. We dragged them off at dusk. 

The "UP"

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan (or U-P as the locals call it) was an great adventure. It kind of reminded of that movie "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" except for us it was RV's, Autos, Boats and Bikes. We camped at Mill Creek Campground (or RV city as I call it) which sits 3 miles from the Mackinaw Bridge and Ferry to Mackinac Island. The campground wasn't my favorite type of place but the kids sure loved it. It was like summer camp.  Playgrounds, arcade, pool, lake, trails, and lots of kids.  Well lots of people everywhere actually.  But we came there to do the infamous Mackinac Island so focus on that . . . Matt! :-) Anyway, the process for getting to the Island left me feeling like a true tourist. We rode our bikes to the shuttle pickup in the campground, waited in line to load bikes and us on bus, then drove to the ferry docks unloaded us and bikes to stand in another line to load bikes and us onto ferry, then boat to island and lined up again to retrieve bikes so that we could line up to shuffle our way into the town.  Once we got clear of the other tourists we had a great 8 mile bike ride all the way around the island. I love the view from the back of the bicycle parade.  

Leesy had to be pushed for 7 of the 8 miles by Daddio.  Daddio doesn't mind though.

The water was so clear

Kids relaxing on the lawn after the ride

Back to town for ice cream

Cheeseheads

Wisconsin, too was a pleasant surprise a beautiful landscape. Lots of small lakes with modest homes surrounding them. Beautiful farms with silos. As we were coming to the end of Wisconsin and entering Michigan we had to find a Cheesefactory or some place selling cheese. We found a quaint little shop on the border that fit the bill perfectly.

Parks Cheese is fabulous!

Council Grounds State Park, Merrill, WI

Spending Money

If you ever see a lemonade stand or in this case, a doughnut stand, you must stop. Do you know how long it takes to put together the idea of selling donuts and making $1 million? One trip to Walmart and a lot of daydreaming  

The kids have been trying to figure out a way to have some spending money on this trip. Brainstorming ideas have been a car wash, RV wash, popsicle sale, brownies and now donuts. In total they have sold two dollars worth.  Tanner has designated himself to be the "moneyman" or the business partner. Alex and he have elected Elise to be a sales person. She does well when practicing however freezes up in front of any crowds. All three kids end up staring silently at the campers.  Thus the $2 profit. 

"The mall"

Normally I'm not one for the mall but this one has a theme park. Who could go wrong? We all had a great time. It was priceless to see the looks on the kids faces on the roller coaster rides. Now it's time to pack up and hit the road. But before we do, will need to figure out how to get the awning in. It's always something. Smiles. 

Minnesota surprises

We are discovering that the state of 10,000 Lakes has its own kind of beauty. Plush forests with lots of green vegetation and farmlands everywhere. You can tell it's well watered land.  After meeting up with our good friends from Boise whom we hadn't seen for at least five years, we began to understand how harsh the winters are. If you don't embrace them with some kind of sport or way to distract you from the cold, the winters can bring depression.

Sara, E, Caitlyn and Allison

A good game of tag for all the kids

Kevin,Breege, us (and baby Matthew), Chris and Sherrey

This is the Stich's and the Orth's. We played softball together and mingles our pets long before children arrived. They both drove distances to meet us and play at the lake. The newest Stich member is Matthew. Almost gave me baby fever...almost.

 Summer however is a beautiful season.

Kids and Dad watching TV outside after a bike ride

I can't take the dirty looks from other campers as they gather around the TV, so Elise and I pack up to go preview the Mall of America.  Matt doesn't care what they other campers think.  I'm so vain. 

The Nickelodeon Universe is the amusement park right smack dab in the center of the mall.  A great idea for Minnesotan's to take advantage of in the long winter months. 

Eating a snack with a great view

Nickelodeon Universe 

This place is awesome!!  It's almost torture to "preview" the mall, but I needed to see if I could navigate the city, parking lot and mall.  Turns out I can, but I'm not very patient without my needed partner.  I have to learn to do this stuff without Matt when he needs to work, but I don't like it.  I was so stressed out that I needed a "nacho" and "blizzard" break.  Don't be surprised if I'm 20 pounds heavier when we return.  

Two days later, the rainy day dictates that we go back, so we take on the mall of America. A couple of great hints. Avoid all weekends! It is crazy busy and the parking is outrageous. Another hint. Parents with children under 48 inches can ride most of the rides without paying but just by being the chaperone. This can save you quite a bit of cash. I didn't know this until I read the small print. The cost for the five of us to go,with our Subway $7 discount per ticket, was still $137.  I must say though, it was a well needed break from getting lost in the city and the headaches of RV repairs.

Slushy break.

Giant Lego guy